Enchantment Passing Through
by desirardent
Summary: “If I have to search for a hundred lifetimes, I will find you again.” Twilight and the musical Aida crossover. M for eventual violence, death, and adult situations. Canon pairings... in a way.
1. Prologue

Okayyy. So here's the plan. A mix of the musical AIDA and Twilight, inspired by the "Enchantment Passing Through (Reprise)" scene and some other random stuff... I just love how the two stories, though not really necessarily that alike, do share their kind of concepts of fate & destiny in love... nothing will keep Aida and Radames apart, not, presumably, even death... just like Carlisle and Esme, Jasper and Alice, Bella and Edward.. etc.. so, I'm gonna need a beta... preferably, one that knows AIDA well enough to help me through the major writer's block I'm likely to have. I've paraphrased a couple lines, I know, for the sake of a little bit more of a connection between Twilight and AIDA characters. Oh, and the Aida and Radames equivalent pairing is a surprise, though I will tell you that it is canon. You'll just have to keep reading to find out who!

For the record... the couple has been condemned to death by essentially being buried alive in an underground tomb. If you don't know the show, please don't let that turn you off... it will all make more sense as you keep reading.

* * *

_Prologue_

The condemned lovers were thrown down into the tomb by the guards. Men that, at one point, he had commanded. Men that had respected him, looked up to him. No more.

Slowly, the entrance was sealed, less and less of their final twilight showing through the cracks, until there was no light at all.

"It's so dark," she whispered, her voice shaking with fear.

"Give me your hand, I'm right here with you," his voice, gentle as always, soothed her. "There is another world waiting for us. I can feel it...Just waiting to be discovered." He held her tightly to his chest, for he was afraid that he would fall apart if he let her go.

"You will find me in that world?" How she could question him after all they'd overcome, she did not know. But still, she had to ask.

He smiled in spite of himself at her unnecessary doubt. "If I have to search for a hundred lifetimes, I will find you again." And she could not doubt the intensity in his voice. He gently pressed his lips to her hair, an unspoken assurance of his eternal devotion.

_There'll be no ties of time and space to bind us_

She leaned against him, listening to the quiet rhythm of his heartbeat.

_And no horizon we shall not pursue_

The air grew thinner in the tomb. Their time was almost up, but only in this lifetime.

_We'll leave the world's misfortunes far behind us  
__And I will put my faith and trust in you._


	2. Fortune Favors the Brave

Okay. Sorry about the delay… first semester of freshman year in college is killer, guys. I fully intend to get this story going now that I can balance it all better. Just a little note… presently, Aida and Radames are the only characters in the story that are totally Twilight characters. Other characters we run into will also have Twilight parallels… but don't worry about every single person fitting into the relationships in Twilight canon. If you think Aida and Radames are Bella and Edward (maybe, maybe not), for instance, don't expect Amneris to be Rosalie or Tanya or Jessica etc etc, for example. She might be, she might not. A refresher course on Aida – it's a musical by Elton John and Tim Rice based on Verdi's opera of the same name. It takes place in ancient Egypt, and is about a love triangle between an Egyptian captain, Radames; his fiancé, the princess Amneris; and Aida, Radames' Nubian captive. If you're familiar with Aida, I'll be going along with the plot, excluding the opening scene/finale, because I'm changing that from the musical to a Twilight canon meeting, and I can't have you knowing right off the bat who we're talking about. But the vampires, whoever they are, are human in this story, until they're not. Confused? Great!

Still no beta, ish… my potential beta actually just had a baby yesterday… much love to my real life Alice!

One last note.. I have zero military knowledge. I have no idea if this is actually a practical tactic.

I don't own anything but the Aida OBC recording, an immensely illegal copy of the libretto, and all four Twilight books.

* * *

_Nothing is an accident  
__We are free to have it all  
__We are what we want to be  
__It's in ourselves to rise or fall  
__**-Fortune Favors the Brave**_

There is a place near the Second Cataract where the water of the Nile is an entirely different color than anywhere else. The gorgeous shade of blue-green the water takes on is nothing short of breathtaking, and anyone fortunate enough to have ventured there would tell you the same. At the point in history where our story begins, however, very few were fortunate—or unfortunate—enough to have seen this firsthand. The Egyptian conquest of its southern neighbor, Nubia, had all but ceased any travel beyond what was considered safe (moreso for the Nubians than Egyptians) and anyone outside what was considered their own lands safe zone was, quite simply, risking their life. Radames, the Egyptian captain, was the exception to the rule. This was mostly by his own design—after all, he had chosen this mission, chosen to take on the exploration of Nubian lands for potential Egyptian profit—and he was anything but fearful for his life. His soldiers were all well trained, able bodied men, and he was more than confident that the entire nation of Nubia could rise against just a handful of his men and still fall.

It was with this attitude that he stood at the bow of his ship. Another captain might have made someone of a lower rank take the lookout position, but Radames was certainly like no other captain. He took pride in his personal involvement in the mission at hand. He squinted into the distance. It would never due to be caught unawares, and so he never allowed himself to be in that position. It was with this thought in mind that he noticed a small group of female figures standing in the distance. "Men," he called softly, his voice still bearing the weight of his authority. "Look!"

The soldiers on deck immediately took heed. "What will we do, Captain?" one asked.

"We will capture them," another said matter of factly.

A collective groan rose from a few. "We don't have time or space for captives."

"But think of the potential for profit!"

Radames raised his hand, effectively silencing them all. He stared at the women as he thought. It was true that taking the time to stop and capture the women would slightly delay his return to Egypt… but for his own reasons, he wasn't entirely sure a delay would be a bad thing. And though he personally was glad to return with an accurate knowledge of the land, he knew that the Pharaoh and truthfully, most of Egypt, would be far more pleased if he were to return with something physical. These Nubian women might be just the thing.

He still spoke softly. "We will sail further down the river, disembark, and cut them off. That way, we will be able to take them by surprise. They are not to be harmed—"he gave the men a sharp look, leaving little doubt as to what he meant "—and they will be inspected as soon as we get them on the ship. Is that clear?"

A collective sound of agreement rose from the men.

"Good. Prepare yourselves," Radames dismissed them to prepare. He himself began to ready his sword and any other weaponry he thought he might need. He had absolutely no intention of using it, of course, but knew that being armed would speed the acquiescence.

No sooner had his supplied been readied than the soldier sailing the ship called to him. "Captain," he said. "I believe we are far enough."

Radames looked at the land himself. "I agree," he said with a slight smile of approval. "Soldiers—let's go."

Carefully, quietly, he led the men through the land. He knew this area well in theory, and was pleased that his observance from on deck had been so spot on. They kept a low profile, traveling quietly as possible. In all, the group he had taken ashore was made up of about fifteen men. When they reached his predetermined point of attack, he stopped them. "You five—" he gestured to a group. "—head that way. In essence, you will drive them toward us. Don't be seen, and definitely don't let them suspect that we're here. Loop around and make enough noise to make sure they come our way. We will wait here. In that way, we will have them surrounded." He made eye contact with each of them, making sure they understood. "Now, go."

He watched the men leave, trusting them to follow his orders. He knew them well, and knew that the odds were very slim that they would fail.

"Captain," one of the men left with him said. Radames looked at him, and nodded, gesturing that the soldier might continue speaking. "Do you think… how soon will we have control of all of Nubia?"

"Within our next expedition," Radames said without pause. "I have no doubt that Egypt was meant to be in control. And so, we will be."

The soldier nodded, looking excited. He started to say something else, but Radames silenced him. He could see the Nubian women closer in the distance. It looked as though they were hurrying, but trying to avoid panicking and breaking into a full run. As they came closer, it seemed that one woman in particular was in charge; she kept the rest of the women at ease when they otherwise might have broken into a full run.

"At my command," Radames said in a low voice. "We will make our presence known. Do your best not to appear threatening." The men laughed. He raised his eyebrows at them and continued, "we don't need them to fear us… it will make our jobs easier if they don't, at first."

Quickly, quietly, the remaining soldiers took their places behind Radames as they ventured further from the banks of the Nile. He knew the women would have seen the ship, but had no means of knowing anything further. The Egyptians made their way closer and closer to the Nubians, until Radames knew that they would be seen. He arranged his features into a calm, if slightly amused, expression. His other soldiers were in the distance, and there was next to no chance of these women escaping now. They were all young… the oldest probably no older than twenty five, and they looked scared. Well, all but one. If he recalled correctly, this woman was the one who seemingly led the group as they were attempting to escape. No matter. One woman would hardly make a difference.

When they were in hearing distance, Radames addressed the soldiers that "herded" the women. "What have we here?"

"We found them along the riverbank, Captain," one of the men said, barely hiding the laughter in his voice. He pushed the lead Nubian away from the rest of the group and toward Radames. She glared at him, her eyes burning in fury.

"Your country is at war and you go wandering along the Nile's edge. Your must have a burning desire to see Egypt," he said lightly. He then turned to his men. "Put them in chains."

As the women were shackled, he turned to look at the ship. This maneuver was one that he would learn to regret, for less than a minute passed before he heard a soldier yell for his sword. He turned to see the Nubian woman holding a sword—presumably the missing one—against another soldier's neck. "Release them," she said. Her voice didn't waver in the slightest.

Radames didn't have time for such audacity, and so crossed toward her. "Hand it over. Now!" he commanded.

The woman ignored his command, instead holding the sword tighter against the soldier. "You took us from Nubia…and now you say we belong to you, yes?"

"Yes," Radames agreed. He didn't know where she was taking this, but he didn't particularly care, either. The sooner she gave up, the sooner he would have them all on the ship.

"Well, I took this soldier from your ranks. So, by your own logic he belongs to me," she said, clearly proud of her logic. "Now let them go."

Radames paused, and smiled at her. This one had spirit, that was for sure. Maintaining eye contact with the woman, he then snapped his fingers at his soldiers, who grabbed the rest of the Nubians and began drawing their swords. Seeing her defeat, the woman threw the sword down.

"Throw her in the river," said the soldier that had lost his sword, as he bent to retrieve it.

"No," Radames said. "I have a better plan for her."

* * *

Well, that's my story so far!


End file.
